What I did on my summer vacation...

I remember having to write stuff like that in school so I thought that I would try it as an adult. I think that it was probably more interesting as a kid. I guess that it is because I had a lot more of a vacation then. I was off this entire week. It was pretty busy. I cleaned out closets, bedrooms, and the storage building. Needless to say, I am having a HUGE yard sale this weekend. I hope that it will be worth all the effort. That was the fun stuff that I did. Oh yeah, McKenna got a haircut, and her and Tucker played in the pool a lot. They went to daycare and still had a normal routine. Billy worked and I was home alone doing all that cleaning out.
We recently found out that my step-father has cancer. He went yesterday and had his chemo port put in. His cancer is stage IV and inoperable. He is taking it pretty well though. My mom on the other hand is not doing to good. She tries to pretend like she is but I know that she is hurting. The cancer was found extremly early but it is very aggressive. The chemo that they are doing is actually 3 types at once. He will go once every 2 weeks for an infusion that will take 3-4 hours. Then he has to bring home and infusion pump and use it for another 48 hours. The doctor told him just to continue life as normal as possible. If he feels like going to work then he needs to go. I am not sure what to expect, his first treatment will be next Tuesday. Then every 2 weeks after that for 6 months. They are going to reevaluate him after 3 treatments and see if there is any change in his condition, then it will be totally up to him and mom to decide on the next steps. If it is not working they can choose to change the type of treatment, or stop them all together. All I know is that there is a lot of people that are praying for him. I know that he appreciates all of them, but we also know that the Lord will do as he sees fit. I am just hoping he sees it our way this time :). I know that is not how we are supposed to feel, it was kinda a joke. I know that everyone hopes that he will see it their way. The Lord has a plan and I know that. I am just glad that I am a part of his plan.

I have not posted in a while. I have been super busy with work, and building a new website. Everyone needs to check it out! http://www.twosisterswithribbon.com/ we have started this up since my husband got laid off. We make flip flops, woven headbands, and all kinds of stuff. We even have M2MG lines. My husband has been helping a lot since losing his job ( anybody out there hiring? ) All has been pretty quiet at the house, just waiting for Kindergarten to end and summer to begin. McKenna will be 6 on May 9th. Wow does time FLY!!!

It has been a crazy week! Last Monday they called from the ENT and asked what day would be best for Tucker's surgery. Of course I told them ASAP! She then said "how about Wednesday?" I told her that would be fine with us. Then on Tuesday they were supposed to call and tell us all the info. Instead we got a call from the ENT office that said that our deductible was not met so we needed to pay $380 or they would not even schedule the surgery! Well, then came the insurance battle. It turns out that my husband's insurance which will remain nameless, applied almost $300 worth of claims to our deductible that should have been paid claims and was still showing that our deductible was not met!! I was on the phone for what felt like 100 years. Finally, they told me that they would just have to resubmit all the claims that had come through and then adjust all of the other ones. I was not happy because the lady that I talked with told me that this would take between 10-14 days and it would still say that our deductible was not met if any surgery claims started coming through before they got all that mess fixed! So much for all that.. on the day of the surgery we arrived at Children's about 8:15 and when we stepped out of the elevator on the outpatient surgery waiting room their were people waiting in the hallway because the waiting room was FULL!! We were scheduled to be there at 8:30 and they finally called us back at 10:30 to start the surgery. Tucker did very well!! The only thing that he did not care for was the IV in his arm. I went into the recovery room and I could hear him crying and saying take it out!! He did not calm down until they did and then he went right to sleep. He slept for the hour that we had to be at the hospital and then all the way home. When we got home he woke up and ate almost 3 pieces of pizza! He was a hungry boy! By that evening he was playing like normal. He has only run a very low fever 3 times and he finally has clear snot!! NO MORE GREEN SNOT!! YEAH!!!

Well, I went for my mammogram. It was not as unpleasant as I had feared. I had to go back on Wednesday and have the ultrasound part done. I was dreading it for some reason. I think that it was the whole having to go back and go through the whole thing again. I walked in and the lady doing the ultrasound was training someone and she said to the other girl " you always ask them where they feel the lump. Usually, i don't feel anything but i just want to have an idea of where it might be. Oh this one i can feel" oh well CRAP of course you can because that is just my luck!! I went for the checkup on Friday and it was not cancer and they saw no signs of cancer, but I have to go back in 4-6 months and repeat the process and make sure that it is still not cancer.

I have also gotten the news that Tucker is going to have to have his adenoids out and a nasal endoscopy sometime soon. I am really glad that they have decided to do it. The Prevacid was working and then all of a sudden all the snot was back. He has the green snot and the cough. I feel bad for him because I know that he cannot feel good. McKenna also has a sinus infection and a really bad flare up of her eczema. It has been an eventful week!

The Day is Fast Approaching...

I just really need to get this off my chest. What a perfect choice of words! There are very few people that know this but on Tuesday I have to go for my first mammogram. Yes, I said mammogram. I am not at all excited about it. I found a small lump in one breast in Dec. and when I went for my checkup she said just watch it and see what happens. Of course I freaked out for a month and checked it everyday. My midwife seemed to think that it was cycle related but it never went away. So, I had to make the call to go back and see her. She scheduled the mammogram for me and said to have it done first and then we can discuss it on Friday when I go and see her. I have a step-sister who just turned 36 that had to have a breast removed in Nov. so I am really worried. I pray everyday that it is nothing. I know that God will make a way no matter what happens. I am just the type of person who hates (this is where McKenna would say "mommy hate is a bad word") to tell people what is going on. It took me almost a month to tell the lady that I work with. I only told her last week. I probably would not have told her then but I had to so I could take the time off to have the mammogram done. I don't know if it is because I don't want people to know because I am not sure myself what is going on, or because I don't want to burden anyone with my problems. I know that I have to let God handle it and not be worried but I am. I know that he is always in control. I know this is not a cheery subject but it is nice to get it out of my system. Thanks for listening (or reading :))

I am so ready for race season to start. We have started watching bowling on Sunday afternoons. BOWLING of all things. It is really neat though, they usually have more in 4 frames than I can bowl in an enitre game.

Today was a good Saturday. We got up and had breakfast, then i hung clothes on the clothes line, and then McKenna and I went to get a haircut. She looks super cute and so grown up with her new hair cut. She is growing up so fast. It is so fun to watch her grow and learn.

Tucker is doing well. The docotors have put him on Prevacid to see if that will help with his recurring sinus infections and it has helped. I was really shocked when that is what he gave us at the ENT. I thought is he hearing me? I said that he has sinus infections not reflux. Oh well, another case where the doctor knew better than me, what a shocker. He had taken two 10 day round of antibiotics in Oct., and Nov. Then in Dec. we graduated up to 20 days and then he had 20 more in Jan.. I felt bad for him having to take all that medicine. I think it was because I hate taking antibiotics. He only had the killer diaper rash that usually goes along with it once though. I was really glad of that. I think that is one of the worst things that can happen, there is nothing that you can do to make it go away instantly and he would just cry and cry. Now we take Allegra, Singulair, and 2 breathing treatments a day along with our Prevacid! That is a lot for anyone, especially a 2 year old. The ENT said that we could stop some of it if the Prevacid worked. He was allergic to eggs and that passed. I am so glad that it did. McKenna was allergic to peanuts and it was hard. A trip to the grocery store seemed to take hours. I had to read EVERY label. Food allergies is one of the hardest things for people to understand though. Unless you have a child that has an allergy you don't know how hard it is. I have had such bad experiences with people that act so casually about them. They are hard.

I am so glad that Fireproof the movie is out on DVD. I think that everyone should see it. It is wonderful. A great Valentine's Day Movie. Yes, you will cry. Well, I cried like a baby both times that I saw it at the movies. It will make you appreciate your marriage, and your parents.

Today was an interesting day at work. It is becoming more and more stressful and I am not liking it one bit. This is a picture of the kids on our last trip to Dollywood. They really loved it. On the way to daycare this morning Tucker started in with his random 2 year old talking and he said "i ride the bees, i ride the pigs" it cracks me up when he starts with that stuff. We went to Dollywood on New Years Day and just out of the blue he starts saying that this morning. I am so amazed at what he can do and say. He is already using the potty. That is how you can tell that you are a mom potty becomes a word that you say everyday, and you are excited about someone using the potty. I think that is why moms stick together. You can't call up one of your friends that don't have kids and talk about pooping and using the potty. They just do not get as excited as I do. I mean it is a wonderful thing. I have used cloth diapers with Tucker. That is another thing that I have gotten some strange looks about. I tell people that I use cloth diapers and it is like I am speaking another language. I did start using them to save money when I was doing the stay at home mom thing, now it carried over to at night and on the weekends. I really believe that is why Tucker is using the potty already. He can't stand to be wet and in the cloth diapers he can feel when he is wet.

McKenna is so excited that they are having a party at school tomorrow. It is the 100 days of school party. She had to take her box of Cheerios. I think that they are making treat bags with 100 treats in them, which amounts to counting 10 each of 10 small items and putting them in a ziploc baggie. To a 5 year old this might be one of the coolest things ever. I can't believe that she is 5. She is so grown up acting and thinks that she is a lot older than that. I just wish I could find some way to break the thumb sucking habit ( all ideas are welcome!!) I am not sure what to try next, short of taping a glove on her hand at night. That seem cruel to me though.

I think that I have rambled enough for onr night, I think that I might go to bed early tonight... until next time...

Well I thought that I should start with an introduction. My name is Jessica Mooneyham, my husband is Billy and we have 2 wonderful children. McKenna who is 5 and Tucker who is 2. They really are the love of my life. McKenna has started kindergarten and oh what an experience that was. She seems to think that she is 15 now instead of 5. Girls are such drama queens. Tucker on the other hand is all boy. That is the only way to describe him. He is big enough already to beat up his sister and make her cry. That is a typical day at our house. McKenna cries, Tucker cries, can you guys not play nice? over and over and over. Those of you with children understand exactly what I am talking about. Well this is my first ever "blogging" experience. I hope it was as good for you as it was for me.